Butter-cutter.



No. 686,667. Patented Nov. l2, l90l.

, n. B. WATERS.

BUTTER CUTTER.

(Application filed Sept. 16. 1900.

(No Model.)

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' UNITED STATES PATENT" Orrrcn.

HARRY B. WATERS, OF DENVER, COLORADO.

BUTTER-CUTTER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 686,667, dated November12, 1901.

Application filed September 18, 1900- Serial No. 30,445. (No model.)

To a whom it may concern.- J

Be it known that I, HARRY B. WATERS, a citizen of the United States ofAmerica, 'residing at Denver, in the county of Arapahoe and State ofColorado, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inButter-Cutters; and I do declare the following to be a full, clear, andexact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilledin the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, referencebeing had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters and figuresof reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

My invention relates to improvements in butter-cutters specially adaptedfor use in restaurants, hotels, and boarding houses, where considerablequantities of butter are required to be cut in small cakes or pieces forindividual use.

My object is to provide a device whereby a package of butter containingone or more pounds may be quickly and easily cut into' the requirednumber of pieces. By the use of my improved device this is accomplishedby two plungers or followers, which are moved successively at rightangles to each other, whereby the package of butter is first dividedinto a number of pieces by forcing it through cutting devices andafterward subdivided by forcing it through cutters which cross the(livisions or cuts made by the first set of cutters. The last-actingplunger forces the butter from the machine.

The invention will now be described in detail, reference being made tothe accompanying drawings, in which is illustrated an embodimentthereof.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is view of myimproved device. Fig. 2 is asideelevation of the same. Fig. 3 is a section taken on the line a: 00, Fig.2.

The same reference characters indicate the same parts in all the views.

Let the numeral 5 designate a casing inclosing two compartments 6 and 7.Each of these compartments is adapted to hold a package of butter of anydesired or convenient size. As butter is usually put up in pound cakesor packages, a machine constructed to out a pound at a time willundoubtedly be the a top or plan more common size, though it will beunder-- stood that it may be made to cut cakes of any size.

Stretched across the opening 8 between the two compartments 6 and 7 aretwo cutting wires or kni-ves lO, crossed at right angles to each other.When the package of butter is placed in the compartment 6, one of itsends lies adjacent these cutting wires or knives, while a plunger 12,movable in the compartment 6, occupies a position adjacent the oppositeend of the butter package. The cutters 10 are preferably formed ofwires, which are anchored at one extremity in the casing, while theiropposite extremities are connected with screws 13. Byturning thesescrews the cutting-wires may be maintained at the desired tension. Theplunger 12 is connected with a stem 14, whose outer extremity isprovided with an upwardly-projecting handpiece 15 and a supporting-leg16, adapted to engage the table 17 or other support to which the deviceis attached.

Tothe casing 5 is attached a bracket 18, adapted to extend below andpass under the edge of the table-top. This bracket is provided with athreaded opening, in which is in serted a thumb-bolt 19, arranged to bescrewed against the table to hold the device in place.

The casing-compartment 7 is open on one side, as shown at 20. Arrangedup and down across this opening and preferably occupying a positionslightly inclined are cutters 22, which may consist of either wires orknives. The lower extremities of these cutters occupy slots formed inthe base of the compartment, while their upper extremities engage slotsformed in a plate 23 and are provided with a registering opening,through which is passed .a pin 24. The plate 23 is held in place byscrews 25, which pass through plain openings formed in the plate and arescrewed into the casing underneath. The tension of the knives or cuttersmay be regulated by means of 5 27 is passed through registering openingsformed in the knife extremities below the bottom of the casing and locksthem against upward movement. In Fig. 2 the knives are shown scallopedlaterally or fashioned to give the butter pieces a fancy or ornamentalappearance. It is evident that the design or shape of the knives in thisregard is immaterial.

At one side of the compartment 7 is normallylocatedaplunger28, which isconnected, by means of a link 29, with a lever 30, fulcrumed below thecasing, as shown at 31. After the package of butter has been forced bythe plunger 12 from the compartment 6 into the compartment 7 and dividedinto four parts by the cutters 10 it occupies a position with one of itslonger sides adjacent the plunger 28. The operator by means of the lever30 drives the plunger against the butter, whereby the latter is forcedagainst the cutters 22 and out of the compartment, being thus subdividedto form forty pieces, as there are four cutters l0 and nine cutters 22.It is evident that the machine may be arranged to cut the butter cakeinto any desired number of pieces. By reason of the inclination of thecutters 22, whereby their upper extremities are innermost, as thebutteris forced from the cutters by the plunger 28 it will leave thelower extremities of the cutters last as it is ejected from the machine.In other words, the rear face of the cake of butter will occupy avertical position, and before this face of the butter passes the lowerextremities of the cutters 22 it will be disengaged from the knives orcutters above their lower extremities. Hence there will be no tendencyfor the butter cake to stick to the cutters, with the result that itwill drop immediately from the machine of its own accord as soon as theplunger 28 has reached its forward limit of movement. The plunger ispivotally connected with the link 28, and hence it will be able toassume an inclined position to accommodate itself to the inclination ofthe cutters 22 as the butter is finally ejected from the machine. Aspring A is coiled around the fulcrum-pin of the le- Ver 30. Oneextremity of this spring bears against the casing, while the otherextremity engages the leverabove the fulcrum. Hence as soon as the leverhas been released after moving to its forward limit of movement therecoil of this spring will return the lever and its plunger 28 to theirnormal positions.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is- 1. In abutter-cutter the combination with asuitable casinginclosingtwocompartments, of a set of cutters separating the compart ments, andanother set of cutters arranged along an opening in the side of onecompartment, the last-named set of cutters occupying an inclinedposition, their upper extremities being innermost, a plunger arranged toforce a package of butter from one compartment to the other through theintervening cutters, a lever, and another plunger pivotally connectedtherewith and arranged to force the butter out of the second compartmentthrough the inclined set of cutters, the arrangement being such that thetwo sets of cutters act on the package at right angles to each other.

2. In a butter-cutter the combination with a casing inclosing twocompartments, two plungers arranged to operate at right angles to eachother in their respective compartments, cutters through which the butteris forced from one compartment to the other by one plunger, operatingmeans with which the other plunger is pivotally connected, and othercutters through which the butter is ejected from the machine by thelast-named plunger, the last-named set of cutters occupying an inclinedposition, their upper extremities being innermost.

3. In a butter-cutter the combination with a casing inclosingabutter-compartment open on one side, inclined cutters arranged alongsaid opening, their upper extremities being innermost, a plunger locatedin the said compartment, and means for operating the plunger with whichthe latter is pivotally connected.

4. In a butter-cutter the combination with a casinginclosing abutter-compartment open on one side, inclined cutters arranged alongsaid opening, their upper extremities being innermost, a plunger locatedin the said compartment, and a spring-retained operatinglever with whichthe plunger is pivotally connected.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

HARRY B. WATERS.

Witnesses:

DORA 0. Stuck, MARY. G. LAMB.

